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I received the following message from "Rhonda Love" at rhondalove@hotmail.com:
Hi Rob,
I just wanted to tell you not to let what they say bother you. What you're doing is great and better than anything they've done! I really admire a guy brave enough to take a stand on things that matter the way you do.
Hoping to hear from you,
Rhonda
My initial reply
Thanks! But what are they saying? Or, at least, who's saying it? I don't read all messages I get [in other forums] unless someone e-mails me. If I read every single message I got in mailing lists or newsgroups, I'd be reading 24/7.
Where are you reading my messages, and which ones? I'm curious because I get responses from all over.
But it doesn't really matter. I appreciate the good words. Sometimes I get messages from people saying not only do they disagree with me, but everyone disagrees with me. I'm not sure how they can know that—actually, they can't—but it still worries me.
Rob
P.S. Have you signed up for my Indian Comics Irregular newsletter? That'll give you a good overview of my latest opinions.
My second thoughts
There's a good chance "Rhonda Love" is a fictional identity created by Ruel Macaraeg, who was upset when I criticized his stereotype-based website. I haven't heard from "Rhonda" since Ruel accidentally (?) sent a message from Rhonda's account instead of his own. Since "Rhonda" criticized Ruel, you have to figure he's one sick puppy. He may be full of self-loathing but unable to express it openly.
Although Ruel criticized my site under his own name, he or "Rhonda" also praised it. It's not for me to judge which is sincere: Ruel's criticism or his praise. With someone suffering personality disorders, maybe they both are. Who knows?
Ruel's self-identification as a female may be part of his fragile personality, so I wouldn't want to do anything to harm it. I've left "Rhonda's" praise here for visitors to see. Readers can compare "her" comments to Ruel's criticism and judge for themselves which is valid.
For the morbidly curious
Here's an exact copy of the message I received from Ruel's e-mail ID Aug. 3. The body of the message was downloaded into a separate file named "-)" because my OzWin program doesn't handle HTML messages correctly. The content of the "-)" file was a message from the same Rhonda Love (or "Rhonda Love"):
------ OzWin: Content #1, Text ------
----------------------- Internet Header --------------------------------
Sender: ruelm@hotmail.com
Received: from hotmail.com (f56.law12.hotmail.com [64.4.19.56])
by spdmgaad.compuserve.com (8.9.3/8.9.3/SUN-1.9) with ESMTP id AAA21613
for <robschmidt@compuserve.com>; Fri, 3 Aug 2001 00:20:42 -0400 (EDT)
Received: from mail pickup service by hotmail.com with Microsoft SMTPSVC;
Thu, 2 Aug 2001 21:20:41 -0700
Received: from 129.107.62.137 by lw12fd.law12.hotmail.msn.com with HTTP; Fri, 03 Aug 2001 04:20:40 GMT
X-Originating-IP: [129.107.62.137]
From: "ruel macaraeg" <ruelm@hotmail.com>
To: robschmidt@compuserve.com
Subject: Re: Did ya miss me?!? :-)
Date: Thu, 02 Aug 2001 23:20:40 -0500
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/html
Message-ID: <F56sQztQoPAzdaQYrVj0000c3b0@hotmail.com>
X-OriginalArrivalTime: 03 Aug 2001 04:20:41.0599 (UTC) FILETIME=[A822D8F0:01C11BD3]
------ OzWin: Content #2, Binary ------
Filename: C:\OZWIN\MAIL\-)
Size: 1672 bytes
The following was contained in the file named "-)":
Sure. For all I know, you're running around on me. Or maybe you're just playing hard to get.
Hey, you're the "player," not me! Who's the one with all those women on his website?!? Should I be jealous...?
That "Sabbath Life" sounds like just the thing for me. I like the little comment at the end -- "if they have time to read it, that is." I'll see if I can't swing by the bookstore this weekend and pick it up. But what were you doing with a woman's book, anyway? Are you trying to 'figure me out?' :-O
I heard Al Carroll's name mentioned in Ruel's essay, but he didn't explain who he was. Does he live here in Dallas? How can I get in touch with him? You're probably right; ignore Ruel and let us deal with him. I bet he's so arrogant and dumb that we can push his buttons and make him say something stupid in public -- he'll get fired, and you'll have beaten him without even lifting a finger!
>You mean YOU need to slow down. What's wrong...is your career clock ticking? Your biological clock?
Did you get that out of a book too? :-D
Actually, the "clock" says it's past my bedtime, so I'm going to get some well-deserved rest. I'll talk to you soon, OK?
8-D Rhonda
I had exchanged a few innocent messages with "Rhonda" before "she" e-mailed me from Ruel's address, so that's the context of this message. The first and fifth paragraphs were quotes from my previous message.
Upon receiving "Rhonda's" message from Ruel's ID, I challenged Ruel to explain himself once again:
I'll be curious to see how you duck or dodge the question this time. Of course, anything you say is likely to be a lie, since I've caught you in several lies already. But go ahead: Surprise me and tell the truth.
I'm sending a copy of this message to Al Carroll for his evidence file. Impersonating people for possibly fraudulent purposes can't be something your employer will like. Someone like James Randi has to be extremely skeptical of anyone who uses false IDs and deception to advance his agenda.
And I'm sending a copy to Rhonda Love at rhondalove@hotmail.com. If she's a separate person, I trust she'll explain how her message came attached to your message header.
As of 2002, I've yet to hear another word from "Rhonda," and Ruel has yet to deny writing under "Rhonda's" name. You can draw your own conclusions.
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